2009 - A Year To Remember To Forget
Dec. 30th, 2009 07:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
waitingmanProbably the last post for the year, given what the next 24 hours holds... more on that next year.
In summary:~
Professionally, the slide backwards continued, with the demise of Debtor's Prison #1 where I was, at least in name, a Manager... albeit in a backwoods, dead-end showroom-cum-warehouse a long way from regular commerce & future prospects. Most of the year was spent on/in the dole-drums searching job sites, newspapers & killing time warming a seat at my 'Employment Provider' their description, not mine!!, as they fudged & futzed around, wondering what to do with me, losing their records, starting again, then dumping me in various courses & 'classes' 'designed' to help me with everything from self-esteem to resumé writing, where they pretty much ended up using my previously-written CV as an example... I suppose that was good for my self-esteem at least.
As the savings eroded & the overdrafts mounted & still the bills kept coming, I eventually landed a job with a consumer electronics store being run as some kind of experiment in retro-economics by a family-owned hardware business. The other staff range from the manic matronly micro-managerial to old & older-school misogynist, racist & homophobic. I'm having a name badge made with the title 'Dogsbody Scapegoat' on it, as that seems to be my role... it certainly isn't sales, there aren't enough of those to count.
A couple of good friends are still looking for other roles for me, using their knowledge & contacts, but so far none have landed & the pie remains resolutely in the sky.
Musically, it's been a time of downsizing, both of commitments & expectations. My passion for playing remains undiminished, but my tolerance for inferior musicianship, bad organisation & 'precious' behaviour faded during the year & was gone forever by November. Some time in the next twelve months I'll either give up completely, or will have found a way to make my own music & make it heard, my way.
Personally, the year began with an unexpected turn, placing me on a path I didn't think I'd be on. It's been good... steep, occasionally rocky, but the views along the way have been more than worth it & the way forward looks promising.
The 6-7 months of unemployment took a personal toll, making me a lot more introspective, quiet & pessimistic than I've been since I was in my twenties... which was a good while ago. Communications have suffered, some friendships have been left to run on unattended autopilot & assumed goodwill. Amends will be attempted, in time, but my damage remains for the time being & needs to be addressed first. Working on it.
I do think I've improved as a photographer though... at the very least. Some favourites:~
In summary:~
Professionally, the slide backwards continued, with the demise of Debtor's Prison #1 where I was, at least in name, a Manager... albeit in a backwoods, dead-end showroom-cum-warehouse a long way from regular commerce & future prospects. Most of the year was spent on/in the dole-drums searching job sites, newspapers & killing time warming a seat at my 'Employment Provider' their description, not mine!!, as they fudged & futzed around, wondering what to do with me, losing their records, starting again, then dumping me in various courses & 'classes' 'designed' to help me with everything from self-esteem to resumé writing, where they pretty much ended up using my previously-written CV as an example... I suppose that was good for my self-esteem at least.
As the savings eroded & the overdrafts mounted & still the bills kept coming, I eventually landed a job with a consumer electronics store being run as some kind of experiment in retro-economics by a family-owned hardware business. The other staff range from the manic matronly micro-managerial to old & older-school misogynist, racist & homophobic. I'm having a name badge made with the title 'Dogsbody Scapegoat' on it, as that seems to be my role... it certainly isn't sales, there aren't enough of those to count.
A couple of good friends are still looking for other roles for me, using their knowledge & contacts, but so far none have landed & the pie remains resolutely in the sky.
Musically, it's been a time of downsizing, both of commitments & expectations. My passion for playing remains undiminished, but my tolerance for inferior musicianship, bad organisation & 'precious' behaviour faded during the year & was gone forever by November. Some time in the next twelve months I'll either give up completely, or will have found a way to make my own music & make it heard, my way.
Personally, the year began with an unexpected turn, placing me on a path I didn't think I'd be on. It's been good... steep, occasionally rocky, but the views along the way have been more than worth it & the way forward looks promising.
The 6-7 months of unemployment took a personal toll, making me a lot more introspective, quiet & pessimistic than I've been since I was in my twenties... which was a good while ago. Communications have suffered, some friendships have been left to run on unattended autopilot & assumed goodwill. Amends will be attempted, in time, but my damage remains for the time being & needs to be addressed first. Working on it.
I do think I've improved as a photographer though... at the very least. Some favourites:~
